I've had a tough semester, partly due to current events, partly due to personal issues, and some of those personal issues could sound like "bad choices," especially to a conservative-leaning person. There's a ton of obnoxious thinkpieces making fun of students who needed counseling or safe spaces after the election, so naturally I think my reasons are invalid. I'm debating asking for incompletes. Sob story inside. [more inside]
posted by MuppetNavy
on Dec 7, 2016 -
52 answers

I am on the academic job market this year (assistant prof level), and I have an upcoming onsite interview at State University in one department for a faculty position, during which I will be giving a public job talk. I also have a Skype interview scheduled two weeks before that with a separate department for a different faculty position that has some overlap with the first one. What now? [more inside]
posted by anonymous
on Dec 2, 2016 -
8 answers

Say that six people share two shower booths, since there are 14 students per floor, where two are in suites, thus leaving twelve people per gender to use two bathrooms equipped with two shower booths each.
Also assume that the shower booths are cleaned using bleach-soaked mops every day at 2 pm. Finally assume that you take showers late in the evening and early in the morning.
Under this assumption, if you go barefoot into those shower booths, is this okay?
posted by red_alert_3
on Dec 2, 2016 -
25 answers

How did premodern universities, schools, convents, etc., work? This question is a bit confused as in formulating it I realized I was confused, but I will do my best! It came up when I was reading a fantasy novel and the novel was clearly "the author went to 20th century American college and just retrojected that on his imaginary medieval world." But what was it really like? I'm looking for the history of teaching, I think, and not just in universities. [more inside]
posted by Eyebrows McGee
on Nov 22, 2016 -
11 answers

I’d like to interview a public university admissions officer on camera for a documentary project I’m working on. They should be able to speak candidly about the admissions policies and practices that many schools in the US have implemented to cope with funding cuts by the states, such as favoring out-of-state and foreign students who pay full tuition. Someone who is retired or who no longer works in admissions would presumably have more freedom to speak on this subject. How would I go about finding such a person?
posted by theory
on Nov 10, 2016 -
7 answers

I'm looking for other programs like the European Graduate School that involves giant(s) of continental philosophy offering a moderately expensive Master's degree on continental Europe. [more inside]
posted by R.F.Simpson
on Oct 1, 2016 -
2 answers

I moved to a new area recently and found a Master's program I'd love to attend. How do I land a job at this university, so I can attend in the future, after having accrued some free course 'credits' in the system? [more inside]
posted by erattacorrige
on Sep 25, 2016 -
24 answers

Does anyone know or have experience using the GI Bill? Especially regarding payment obligations to the university? Do I ever have to pay up front? [more inside]
posted by snsranch
on Sep 19, 2016 -
5 answers

Where are the academic (or other) research group/sub-departments - in any science discipline! - that live up to the fantasy of eloquent free-wheeling idea exchange and cosmopolitanism, while still doing science. [more inside]
posted by anonymous
on Sep 16, 2016 -
5 answers

I'm just finishing up my final third year of university and would like to follow the honours path instead of a third year pass degree. I'm mostly a B student (70-75 marks range). I only have a few marks in the 80s range. My question is: How can I motivate myself to get high marks and stay on top of my class readings? [more inside]
posted by RearWindow
on Sep 9, 2016 -
4 answers

I've been looking for some time now for a new career path - beyond just "whatever job I can get right now" and into something secure, with a future and where I've got a genuine interest. I've worked in the non-technical side of radio broadcasting in the past, and radio technology (through ham radio) has been my hobby for many years. I'm wondering about turning RF engineering into a career but I'm unsure where to start. Help! [more inside]
posted by winterhill
on Sep 6, 2016 -
3 answers

Hello. I'm trying to find a high-end quality backpack for university for my 15.6" business laptop. Price range could be from $100 - $210. Something that will last a long time. [more inside]
posted by RearWindow
on Sep 2, 2016 -
9 answers

I have been asked to run a 'colloquium' at an Australian university. I have never been to a colloquium at any university. I need to know what usually happens in one. Interested from a student perspective as well as the perspectives of those that have delivered/organized/participated in one. What makes a good one? What makes a bad one?
posted by MT
on Sep 1, 2016 -
8 answers

I like plans, but I generally have no idea where things are going from year to year with my son's education (he is now 13). He's bright, and half-way through a degree course. We fumble a new plan each year, but I still don't really know exactly what we would best do next and what distant destination we should be aiming for. We're in New Zealand. [more inside]
posted by tillsbury
on Aug 21, 2016 -
10 answers

My older one is great at math, worried about UK student debt, and wants to have the university experience. Are there distance or residential sub-£18,000 math degrees anywhere that offer a level of student experience akin to the tutorial opportunity and entertainment a student in university might have, or companies or organisations geared to these experiences?
posted by parmanparman
on Aug 13, 2016 -
16 answers

I'm fast approaching 36 this year and have had a varied career. You could same i'm a jack of all trades but master of none, what with undertaking lots of roles and completing a business degree at 33. For the past couple of years, the job market has been tough. I've undertaken a couple of 6-9 month job contracts as a temp, whilst also experiencing a length period of unemployment. I loved the experience academia brought and I excelled during this journey, developing some great skills. I've just been accepted to do the MBA part time and have been in my current contract 15 months. It is due to come to an end in October but there's a chance of a permanent job coming up that is very well paid. [more inside]
posted by emma33UK
on Aug 8, 2016 -
15 answers

I'd like to update a stale resume. Have you come across any inspiring examples of online teaching statements and philosophies at the university level? Thank you! [more inside]
posted by carter
on Aug 2, 2016 -
3 answers

Family member was expelled from their university over a (BS) claim of misconduct. Is there a template to use or any recommendations on how to outline their statement to the panel? [more inside]
posted by heavyp08
on Jul 13, 2016 -
12 answers

Radio station WOSB-FM is one of four repeater stations owned by Ohio State University. The others are WOSE-FM, WOSV-FM and WOSP-FM They are all retransmitting WOSA-FM, which is OSU's classical music flagship station. WOSA was created so WOSU-FM could broadcast NPR news and other programming. Oddly, WOSU is also not listed as an NPR member station. [more inside]
posted by CollectiveMind
on Jun 3, 2016 -
9 answers

I'm fascinated with computers, robotics, and photography. Yet, there's something captivating about IT and Computer Programming. I'm almost finishing up my Social Science bachelor's degree (Sociology), which is pretty worthless from a marketable angle, little job offers. I would like to learn more about IT (Support Services for software) and Computer Programming as well, but I have no background in these two fields. Should I pursue a degree in either of these fields if I have no experience with math and computers? [more inside]
posted by RearWindow
on May 28, 2016 -
15 answers

I am liberal arts (philosophy) major preparing to graduate in one year (spring of 2017). Originally I had planned on going to graduate school, but I have now decided against it in favor of entering the workforce. Help me understand what I should be doing from now until graduation to make sure I am as attractive of an employee prospect as possible, considering my circumstances. More details inside. [more inside]
posted by fignewton
on May 7, 2016 -
14 answers

I'm near the end of my Master's degree. I have one semester left which will be a research project with a 10k-word paper at the end. I know I want to go on to a PhD next but I dont know how this stuff works. [more inside]
posted by stellathon
on May 2, 2016 -
8 answers

Hello good folks of MeFi,
I'll be a college senior later this year, and I'm having a lot of trouble deciding whether I should apply to MBA programs this fall. If you have a minute--or several, this is a long one--please give me your opinions, reality checks, and/or virtual smacks upside the head. [more inside]
posted by blissfulchar
on Apr 14, 2016 -
31 answers

My PhD supervisor is getting a new job. I want to move with him, but the new university doesn’t seem as good as my current one. It is decidedly weaker in my field and much less well-known overall. I am not sure whether I should go to the new university, stay at the current one, or try to graduate from my current university while also working with my current supervisor. [more inside]
posted by cestlavie
on Mar 27, 2016 -
17 answers

Years ago, I did an introduction to art and design as a precursor to design school (which I later did). It included assignments such as, draw what the inside of your mouth feels like, or create a sculpture using only found objects. I found it really helpful in inspiring me. Where can I get similar briefs as prompts for creating art today? Ideally they will be actual assignments from art institutes and point me in different directions for making interesting things. I've had little luck so far finding similar things for college students online.
posted by Jubey
on Mar 6, 2016 -
6 answers

I am an editor and writer with a BA and an MA. I've been accepted to at least one of the PhD in rhetoric/communication programs I've applied to—and fully funded (albeit with a limited stipend, but that's to be expected). If I decide to go, I start this fall. However, I can't shake the feeling that maybe I want to be teaching high school language arts. But do I really? [more inside]
posted by gypsyhymns
on Mar 2, 2016 -
14 answers

I like to browse the websites of academic publishing houses for new releases. For example, University of Minnesota Press has a deliciously quirky list of titles. Who else should I follow?
posted by Jason and Laszlo
on Feb 17, 2016 -
15 answers

What is the fastest route to a degree for someone with three years worth of general University education (but no degree) from a state university, roughly 10 years ago, who is no longer geographically close to that university? Assume that the degree field itself doesn't matter (it literally doesn't in my situation.) [more inside]
posted by anonymous
on Jan 27, 2016 -
6 answers

In his 2010 article 'The myth of browsing' (American Libraries, vol. 41, no. 6/7), Donald Barclay states the following (emphasis mine): "Prior to the Second World War, the typical academic library was neither designed nor managed to support the browsing of collections. At best, faculty might be allowed to browse, but it was the rare academic library that allowed undergraduates into the stacks." Is this true? [more inside]
posted by paleyellowwithorange
on Jan 23, 2016 -
15 answers

Inspired by this post, I would like to find some fiction involving a university or college setting in Mexico or other parts of Latin America. Contemporary is preferred, but please don't hold back on any great historical reads.
posted by neutralmojo
on Jan 13, 2016 -
4 answers

I'm an archivist at a large university in the USA. I've been at my current job for a few months now and it's my first archives job since I finished my master's degree.
I am the first degree-holding archivist they ever hired. Before very recently, all the archivists at my department had been part-time students in the master's degree program here. One other archivist stayed on for a few months after she graduated last year. Whenever she finished her degree, she was given some kind of promotion or reclassification because of it. She was still a part-time hourly worker, but was being paid twice as much as the rest of us. What could that mean for me? [more inside]
posted by wrabbit
on Jan 8, 2016 -
6 answers

I'm stricken by overwhelming concern about the world (environment, hunger, refugees, corrupt corporations) coupled with guilt that I'm not doing anything to improve things. What can I do with the tools available to me? [more inside]
posted by lizifer
on Dec 26, 2015 -
23 answers

I would have to break a small teaching contract to take a much more stable and lucrative admin job I interviewed for at the same university. I haven't told my current supervisor that I'm looking for other work, but the application form required me to put them down as a reference. What should I do if HR gives me the heads-up that they are going to call my references? [more inside]
posted by Beardman
on Nov 25, 2015 -
5 answers

I need to find out accurate information showing the quantity of university/tertiary/higher education students and lecturers, by age, for Australia and internationally. [more inside]
posted by b33j
on Nov 8, 2015 -
2 answers

UK university filter: I have to finish two much-overdue essays very quickly. How to best shut down my mind (while anxious and depressed) from procrastinating and indulging in perfectionism / "analysis paralysis) [more inside]
posted by runincircles
on Sep 1, 2015 -
7 answers

I am a young female engineering professor who was invited to speak to incoming freshman engineering girls at my uni. I am flattered and want to inspire and motivate these young students. I need suggestions on what to focus on. I thought it would be easy because there is so much advice I can give but when I sit down it seems too disconnected and jumbled. more info inside [more inside]
posted by dublin
on Aug 19, 2015 -
38 answers

I will be delivering a (voluntary) 1-2 hour college readiness workshop for new students at the beginning of the September semester. The purpose is to provide them with skills, resources and info that will help them in their transition to post-secondary education. If you took or wanted to take a workshop like this, what kind of info was/would have been useful? [more inside]
posted by hurdy gurdy girl
on Aug 19, 2015 -
28 answers

Do you know of a documentary on college students' lives? I'm really interested in the transition from adolescence to adulthood as well as what students learn at the college level. [more inside]
posted by brynnwood
on Aug 13, 2015 -
7 answers

Hi!
I have a reasonable specification (circa 2011-12) Dell desktop computer which is being due to be recycled which for all I know may mean going in to landfill. It seems somewhat of a waste and shame not to consider doing something useful with it as the component parts are decent and breaking it down for spares is going to be of marginal benefit. It belongs to the University so I appreciate that it isn't my property but I was wondering if someone could think of good purposes/ applications for which this unused box PC could be used. [more inside]
posted by conrad101
on Aug 6, 2015 -
12 answers

I attend Tiny Liberal Arts College. I applied to transfer to Awesome State University and was accepted and ended up deciding to stay at TLAC and now I feel fucking sick about it. [more inside]
posted by anonymous
on Jul 4, 2015 -
21 answers

What are the best practices right now, as far as official college policies dealing with transgender students' needs? For example, making it easy to change your name on campus records. Are there any good examples of colleges doing things right? [more inside]
posted by anonymous
on Jul 2, 2015 -
15 answers

I need a class on how to be organized before I start my degree this Fall! Sadly, no one actually teaches organizing undergrad 101 so I'm relying on Metafilter for all your best tips and tricks! [more inside]
posted by Liger
on Jun 14, 2015 -
15 answers

I want a cheap/free way to do outreach to high school teachers in Ontario. I want to promote an alternative university program where they can steer students with potential but not great grades. [more inside]
posted by Frenchy67
on May 27, 2015 -
3 answers

Hey, my spring term is almost over, and its been kind of brutal! But I rewatched Real Genius last night and am feeling pretty okay about things again. What are some similar movies I can stockpile for future terms? Setting should be university, or maybe something post-university with a research/impossible-thing-to-build-but-hey-they-build-it-anyway angle.
posted by curious nu
on May 23, 2015 -
8 answers

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